City interview: Virgin chief Steve Ridgway

Steve Ridgway is living proof that some things do grow in the shade. In fact, the Virgin Atlantic chief executive seems more than happy for his boss to hog the limelight, allowing him to get on with the job.

Power behind the throne: Steve Ridgway doesn't mind taking the back-seat to Branson

His comparatively low public profile means that while Sir Richard Branson is one of the most recognisable businessmen in the world, Ridgway doesn't get stopped in Tesco.

Despite this, Devon-born Ridgway is well thought of within the industry, and is often referred to as 'the power behind the throne' at Virgin Atlantic.

One industry source said of him: 'He's recognised as a stand-alone, very capable airline chief executive. He's somebody who knows the nuts and bolts of the industry, whereas Branson is not a details man.'

Sitting back in the plush surroundings of Virgin's new fast-track business check-in at Heathrow's Terminal 3, Ridgway is every inch the typical Virgin executive - smart, relaxed, tanned and tie-less.

But, he is also very tough, and pulls no punches when discussing Virgin's difficult relationship with the airports' owner BAA.

'We challenge them (BAA) hard on performance, but we have a professional relationship with them,' he says. 'It is pressured and adversarial when it needs to be, but professional and co-operative at other times.'

Spanish owned BAA has been under pressure to raise its game as increased security checks have sent queueing times spiralling upwards, lumbering the country's premier airport with the unfortunate 'Heathrow hassle' tag.

Ridgway - who joined VA in 1989 to run its air miles scheme and became chief executive in 2001 - agrees with the gripes of politicians and high-flying business leaders, who complain that Heathrow's woes are hurting the economy.

'It is not just about a few travellers. This is about UK Limited and London remains the financial capital of the world. It has been a wake up call beyond the industry. They (BAA) are messing with the economy.'

However, he also recognises that BAA is starting to respond to the criticism by ramping up efforts to beat the queues by hiring extra staff and opening more security lanes.

He hopes these efforts will lead to a better year for the industry, compared with last year's bumpy ride that saw Virgin Atlantic report a 40% dive in pretax profits to £47m on the back of higher taxes, new route investment and security alerts.

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It also saw the airline at the centre of a damaging criminal investigation into fuel surcharges. Bitter rival British Airways was fined £271m by US and UK regulators for fixing the price of fuel surcharges.

However, Virgin, which colluded with the flag-carrier, got off the hook because it went to the authorities to blow the whistle.

Ridgway shuffles uncomfortably when quizzed about the debacle. But he says: 'The legislation is very clear. If any of this stuff is going on you have a duty to report it.

'Willie Walsh (BA chief executive) has said he would have done the same thing. We have apologised to our customers and it won't happen again.'

On his relationship with Walsh and BA, Ridgway is the epitome of diplomacy: 'I think it remains very professional. We are in the same industry together and share the same issues, but at the same time we are rivals.'

However, once the niceties are out of the way, he can't resist having a dig at the airline's new Heathrow hub at Terminal Five, which is due to open at the end of March.

'It will be very impressive, but there are downsides,' he warns. 'It is a huge building, so it will take a long time for passengers to travel through it.

'One way of competing with that is to do the exact opposite - to be smaller and faster. That is one of the things we have been focusing on here at T3.'

Ridgway is vehemently opposed to the arcane restrictions governing airline consolidation, which makes it near impossible for transatlantic mergers.

However, the first phase of a set of rules, called Open Skies, comes into force in April that will relax some of these restrictions.

'But Virgin and BA are waiting for a promised second phase that will truly open up the market to global airline marriages.

'Overall, there is no doubt the regulatory shackles need to come off the industry. Airlines have to, and will consolidate, but competitive markets must be preserved,' Ridgway says.

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But he is less forthcoming on Virgin's own acquisition plans. The company, along with BA, has been linked with a takeover of smaller British rival Bmi, which is thought to be mulling whether to remain independent.

'All we have said about Bmi is that these are complimentary businesses, but at the end of the day they are a privately owned business that are not for sale,' he insists.

He is also coy about the future plans of the carrier's silent partner Singapore Airlines, which has said it wants to sell its 49% stake.

Ridgway reckons Singapore's priorities have changed, and that it is now much more focused on China, and what the Gulf carriers like Emirates and Etihad are doing.

Branson has indicated Virgin would look at whether there was any benefit in buying back the stake, but Ridgway says it would not give the entrepreneur anything extra in terms of control because he already has that with 51%.

The cut and thrust of the airlines business is all a long way from his childhood home in Devon - where the house was only reachable by boat.

He recalls his childhood fondly as 'real swallows and amazons stuff'.

After studying for an economics degree at London University, the Virgin boss started his career as a marketing man for part of the James Goldsmith empire.

But, the adventurous Ridgway then decided to up sticks and move to Miami to run a boat-building business just weeks after the birth of the first of his three children.

It was in Florida that he met Branson in the mid-1980s, who was then only known for his music label and a ballooning fetish.

The entrepreneur asked Ridgeway to project manage his record-breaking transatlantic crossing aboard Branson's Challenger power boat. He later also managed the Challenger II attempt.

When we finally get on to the subject of his boss, Ridgway speaks with genuine affection, noting Branson's strengths are as a figurehead for the company, plus his political clout.

'He can pick up the phone to anyone and be listened to,' says Ridgway.

'We are very good friends now, both personally and from a family point of view. But I think we have a lot of the same instincts over what works and what doesn't.'

Branson's crazy projects clearly left their mark on Ridgeway. The keen sailor admits to enjoying escaping from it all after a tough week at the coal face by hopping aboard his yacht, Josephine, and sailing off somewhere quiet.

Despite Virgin Group's tentacles spreading into telecoms, media, personal finance and rail, Ridgway insists the airline is the one business that Branson is still emotionally involved in.

'It is still the flagship company in the Virgin group,' he says. 'He's not involved in the day to day running of it, but he wants to see it go on growing.'

And in a volatile and often uncertain sector, Virgin Atlantic looks sure to hold a steady course with Ridgway in the pilot's seat.